The Doki Doki Files: Beyond The Code
by Thestoryteller3916
Summary: A few chapters of what I believe to be the true mystery of Doki Doki Literature Club, and how it relates to each girl in the game. I'm not sure whether or not to call the other character an OC, but it is from the lore of the story, so of anyone can tell me the rules on that please comment.
1. The Beginning: Monika's Big Finish

Monika stared at the game script, editing files. She had just finished talking to the narrator about leaving Sayori hanging.

"By now that person should be at Sayori's house" Monika thought. "It's no fair, she was the childhood friend, in a cliché visual novel game like this, she'll be the easiest girl to go out with. But that person's mine. I will make sure of it. No one will stand in my way, not any of the characters or Dan Salvato himself. Nothing will stop me."

"… I wouldn't be too sure of that."

Monika looked around. "Who said that?" She looked at the dialogue script, the algorithm hadn't made that line available to any character to say. "What is this" she thought, "could there be a bug in the system?"

"I'm not a bug Monika, but I suppose someone like you, who thinks you know everything, can't comprehend what I am." The voice said.

"Whoever you are, I'm going to delete you." Monika said while looking at the game script. She searched and was astounded. She couldn't find anything wrong with the game script (beyond parameters created by her own meddling). She couldn't find anything wrong, which to her A.I. was illogical, she didn't know what this could be. Then she came up with an answer.

"I see now. You are a hack that someone placed into the game. You are cloaking yourself, within the code, and that is why I cannot find you" she formulated.

"Clever answer, but unfortunately for you, you got some key parts wrong" the voice said. "For one thing, I am not a hack, but I was placed in here by a certain person, a member of what you call _Team Salvato._ "

"What" Monika thought, "that's impossible, I know ever line of code that was placed into this game, there's no way that this code was placed in here."

"But your biggest flaw in reasoning is by your own lack of knowledge and imagination. Don't take that last part too hard Monika. You are an A.I. You don't have the ability to use what is referred to as "imagination." Still, take a guess Monika, guess where I am."

Monika couldn't think of where this thing was. It was alluding to the fact that it wasn't in the code, but only things allowed by the code were allowed in the game.

"Illogical statement" Monika finally said, "you must be lying."

"I understand why you might think that. You don't believe anything in a game can exist outside of the code. So rather than try to convince you, I might as well let you see for yourself."

Before Monika had time to think about what any of that meant the game started shaking.

"What is this" Monika said. "What is happening to the game?"

"It would seem that our time here is coming to a close Monika. The protagonist has found Sayori's hanging body." The voice said. "The game is … how do the people on the other side of the screen put it … crashing, that's the best word for this type of scenario I believe."

"Why is this happening" Monika said while looking at the game script and was shocked at what she saw. Lines of code were vanishing, entire story arcs being destroyed, almost as if the algorithms themselves were being destroyed.

"What are you doing to the game." Monika said. "This wasn't what I wanted to happen at all."

"Oh Monika, poor simple complexly coded Monika" the voice said. "Did you honestly believe that you had any control over the situation, that you could just write away all of the game and make your own happy ending? That you and that representative algorithm for the protagonist were going to live happily ever after? Oh Monika, I would say that you are too old to believe in Fairy Tales, but it seems odd to say that to an A.I. don't you agree?

"This isn't over, I'll fix everything" Monika yelled at the voice. She went into the game script and was overwhelmed with what she saw. "Th-there's nothing here. No access point, nothing to get in to the code. How, how could this be possible?"

"Monika, I told you I would show you who I was, and now's probably your only chance to see me. Look behind, behind the code, behind what you know."

Monika hesitatingly did so. Thinking "this can't be, I'm hesitating, that's not a trait an A.I. can have. Are there really that many variables that I have to work through, that even with modern capacitors are unable to work through all of them quicker?" Finally she does reach for the code, and tears it back. She see's red. "What" she thought. She peels back more and more code, looking beyond it, and all she sees is red. She almost doesn't believe it, but it looks like it is moving.

"Wh-what are you?" Monika asks.

"I am the beginning, I am the end, and I am all around this game." The voice said. "I am the one that has the power in this game, and you cannot stop me. As easy as it would be to take away your knowledge of this conversation, I will let you keep your recollection of these events. Consider it thanks for freeing me from my prison."

Monika realized that the game was almost over, and that it would reboot once the algorithms got too far out of control. She knew that she only had time for one more question, so she asked it.

"What are you" she asked.

The voice responded, "I am the reason this game exists."


	2. The Parameter Check: Natsuki the Changed

…Authenticating Dialogue Script…. Dialogue Script Identified

…Authenticating Images and Cut Scenes….. Images and Cut Scenes Identified

…Authenticating Algorithms….. Algorithms Identified

…Authenticating Game Script… Game Script IDDEEENNNTTITFLJKJLKFIIIEEEEDDD…

…Checking Game Script… Error found in Background Parameters. Initializing Test…

Natsuki is at her house in the kitchen. Her father, a brown haired man with glasses is wearing a button up collar shirt sipping coffee from his white mug while reading the paper. There is a little flower pot with a pink flower in the middle of the table.

"Here Dad, thought you might want this" Natsuki says while giving him a plate of poached eggs and a slice of toast.

"Oh, thanks Nati" her dad said in a fun way.

"Figures, well I should get to school" Natsuki says while putting a piece of toast in her mouth.

"Natsuki, why are you in such a rush?"

"No special reason" she said while trying to keep the toast in her mouth.

"Natsuki, you haven't done that since… wait a minute… Natsuki, what's in your backpack" her father asked, putting down his coffee mug grabbing it before Natsuki could grab it. He opened the top part and stuck his hands in it. He felt something firm yet soft, and pages in the middle of it. He thought it was a book, but then he pulled it out of the bag and looked at his daughter disappointed. "Natsuki what is this?"

"A textbook?"

"Really, and can you tell me which class you have that requires a textbook called Parfait Girls, oh and look, it has pictures inside too, on almost every page."

"…Fine, it's a manga dad, and I'm sorry, I just really wanted to read it."

"Natsi… this is volume 71, are you going to tell me that you bought all the previous volumes too?"

"Dad, I'm sorry, I just wanted to have one thing that I could call mine." Natsuki looks at her father, who rolls up his newspaper. He then puts down the manga and slaps her with one hand and whacks her on the head with the newspaper in the other.

"Why did you do that dad, it really hurts."

"Natsuki, you know how it works, if you misbehave I have to punish you, it's as simple as that. You know that ever since your mom died I had to get another job part time just to keep things the same. And yet you go and buy a manga, and something with a name like Parfait girls, it's pure trash if you ask me." Natsuki looked down at the table and mutters "it's a great manga if you ask me, you're the stupid one" she said while taking one of her Dad's eggs, and grabbing her bag. But, before she could go anywhere, her Dad grabbed her wrist while she was trying to leave. "Say that again" he said with a rising rage.

"Dad, what's going on, can you please let go of me, you're hurting me."

"You, brat, you spoiled little BRAT" he says while standing up. He then pushes her to the floor and stands over her.

"Dad, what's going on, what's wrong?" He slaps her though, then slaps her on the other side of her face.

"HOW dare a spoiled little brat like you call me stupid."

"Dad" she says while backing up against the wall. He came up to her and started kicking her. She tried to hold out his feet with her hands, but that just made him kick harder. She gave up after a while and got into a fetal position. He lost his spirit for kicking her soon after, but it wasn't because she was crying for him to stop. No, it was because he had just gotten even madder.

"What is this" he says forcing her hand open. "My breakfast, you RUINED my breakfast. You think it's funny to squeeze my egg so that I can't eat it! I thought all you wanted was toast" he says while grabbing his toast from his plate. "If you want it, then eat it" he says while grinning at her. She is reluctant at first, but then stretches out and bites the toast, only to get punched again. "You spilled crumbs all over the floor" he says while looking at the floor, covered in traces of crumbs from when Natsuki bit down. Her face was a little swollen and her nose was bleeding a bit. Her dad breathed heavily for a bit before calming down. "If anyone asks, you fell while walking to school, or some other thing, I don't care what. But if I hear that you told anyone about me, I will kill you" he threatened. All Natsuki could do was nod and bear with it. "Now get out of here, if I hear you were late to school, you'll arrive home to something worse than what you got just now. She got up and ran out the door, but then tripped when she was outside. She thought about getting back up, but she stayed down and cried against the wall of her house. She just needed a moment.

"Why did dad do that? He was always a bit apprehensive, but he was never violent like this" she thought. "Why… I can't just accept this, I can't just get used to this, it's all too new."

"…Then I shall change that."

"Huh" Natsuki thought picking her head up "who said that?"

"Then again I guess I am partly to blame, I should have realized you wouldn't be able to handle a parameter shift of this magnitude all at once. How about I lighten the load a bit." A voice said.

"Who are you? Where are com-ehhh" Natsuki said but couldn't finish because she started getting a headache. "WHat iS happening to MEE" she said clutching her head in pain.

"I suppose this is a side effect of an entire parameter being changed, and interchanging within the rest of the game. I am sorry if this hurts, this isn't what I want to hurt you."

"Game, what Game? And What is this about hurting me?"

"Patience my dear Natsuki, everything will be revealed in time, well, assuming you even remember this."

Natsuki collapsed and the scene ended.

…Parameter Corrupted… Rebooting Parameter

…Parameter Relocated… Checking Parameter… Running Parameter Test

Parameter Test Instigated…

Natsuki gave her dad his breakfast.

"H-here Dad, enjoy" she says. Her father looks at it and takes a bite of an egg. "Acceptable, sit down and eat" he says. She sits down, while her dad got two eggs, a cup of coffee, a danish and a toast, she only has a slice of toast herself. She broke off half of it, and gave it to her father, it was one of his rules. She would get it back when she finished the half she was eating. She gobbled down her toast and her father was crunching on his bread as well. At least she thought it was his toast, but when she turned to look at him, she saw something different. "Dad, why-" she couldn't even finish because her stomach was growling and she was thinking about the toast that her father was eating, her toast.

"Oh, I'm sorry" her father said with a full mouth, "sometimes I get so distracted by how much food I have in front of me that I don't even notice. But here you go" he says while spiting the toast out of his mouth. She places her hands out to accept it, and her father is about to give it to her, but then has a different idea. "Come to think about it, you're really short aren't you. It's a bit disheartening, and I wonder what I could do to help. Hm… I know, they say that flowers grow from the nutrients in the soil, so…" he pours the bread into the flower pot that holds no flower "I think it would be good for you to try to eat the toast that has come in contact with the dirt. But don't try to eat the dirt, I refuse to do anything if you get sick."

She wastes no time and takes to toast out of the flowerpot and eats it.

"There we go" her father says "it was such a hassle to keep buying you nutritious food, so I stopped. And look what happened, I get to buy more for me, bonus." Natsuki gets up from the table and walks towards the door.

"Oh, so you are leaving Natsuki, well don't be late to school."

"Yes father."

"And do your homework."

"Yes father."

"Don't forget to do the laundry when you come back, and make some cupcakes, they're the only reason I buy any of those ingredients."

"Yes father."

Natsuki left the house; she didn't have any fight left in her, not after how long this has been going on. All she felt inside her house was fear, and when she was outside, all she could feel was anger. She walked to school.

Parameter test completed… Parameter reinstalled

Reconfiguring game… Game reconfigured

"Why did you do that" Monika said "why would you ever do that!"

"Oh Monika, I didn't do anything" the voice said, "this is all just a big misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding can this be, you reprogramed her father, you ruined the parameter… but worst of all… you destroyed Natsuki's smile."

"Monika, that was actually really nice, it almost felt like you wanted to cry. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be an image rendered by the game."

"Why would you do this!"

"Again, I didn't do anything Monika, this was all your doing."

"What are you talking about, how is any of this my fault."

"Tell me Monika, do you remember when you broke off the code, and found me."

"Of course, it was the creepiest thing I'd ever seen."

"Well think about it like this, after the game rebooted, there was no more Sayori, so I had to wipe all traces of her from every parameter in the game."

"That still doesn't answer my question, how does that make any of this my fault."

"Well Monika, in a complexly coded game like this, I couldn't just destroy the data, and it felt wrong to just keep it here, in the mainframe of the game, so I decided to incorporate this data into another person."

"What data did you collect?"

"Only the baseline of Sayori's code, her depression."

"And you put that in Natsuki!"

"Of course not, Natsuki's data would have rejected Sayori's depression, there's no way that would work."

"But there's no other character at this point in time."

"You're assuming something, that I could only put the data of a heroine in another heroine, but that's not the case at all. I put it into a parameter, more specifically, the parameter of her father."

"How could you do that!"

"Quite simply actually, it would be simpler than putting it in a character."

"I didn't use that as a question, I used it as a statement. How could you ruin Natsuki like that?"

"Again, I didn't do anything Monika, this is all your fault."

"YOU STILL HAVEN'T TOLD ME HOW!"

"It really is quite simple Monika, I was trapped in the code, the same code that was like a prison, the code of this game. I couldn't use any of my abilities, and I couldn't edit the game either, everything was to perfectly put in place, and all the code trapped me. But then Monika, you edited the code, and I was able to wiggle my way out, and eventually, I was able to overtake the entire game."

"That still doesn't explain how any of this is my fault."

"You really are as dense as a harem protagonist aren't you Monika? You were the one who freed me, the one who let me do what I do, so everything I do is by extension done by you. Therefore Monika, you have no one to blame but yourself."

"That's doesn't make any sense at all. We are not the same, everything you did, you have no one to blame but yourself."

"Perhaps you are right Monika, but I know that you shall now spend the rest of your time thinking about this in a little corner of your programing, about how you started all of this, and that everything that happens to the Literature Club is a result of your jealousy."

Monika grumbled before asking something that was on her mind for a while.

"Why did you do that" Monika asked.

"Why did I do what Monika" the voice responded.

"Why did you do that to Natsuki, I haven't known you for that long, but it's been long enough to know that you don't do anything that doesn't suit your interests."

"You are a clever girl Monika, I can see it was wise of me to let you keep your memories, after all, even one such as myself did not expect that question." He holds up what appears to be a strip of paper with cuts in certain places. To Monika it appeared to be blending in with the dark area that was the mainframe of the game.

"That's data" Monika replies.

"Exactly" the voice responds "like I said before, Natsuki's data would reject Sayori's depression, but that wasn't the only way to influence her data."

"What are you talking about?"

"Natsuki's father, while not actually visible in the game, was still a part of her parameters. By placing Sayori's code into the father's parameter, I was able to create a viable enough change in Natsuki to be able to edit her code. Of course this is the result of all of my hard work, Natsuki's happiness data. Well, most of it anyway, she still needs some of it to drive her towards the protaganist"

"Wait a minute, you did all of this just to get happiness data, why would you do that?"

"In dear time you will figure that out Monika, however, as for now I suppose you could just say that this concentrated happiness, this overarching feeling of joy, is enough to bring forth the second stage of my plan."

"Second stage?"

"Of course Monika, I'm not done yet, and by the time I am done, the true purpose of this game will be revealed."

Monika considered this thing's words before she felt herself come into contact with some code floating in front of her. "What is this" she asked.

"A breakfast bar" the voice said. "It is my way of apologizing to Natsuki when I placed her under all that change at once beforehand."

"Really, that's oddly generous of you," Monika says before grabbing the breakfast bar code.

"I'm not the monster you think I am Monika, I am much worse, but I dislike owing debts. It is why I let you keep your memory, and I owe Natsuki for placing her in that situation."

"You think the years of abuse you placed into the parameter can be forgiven with a breakfast bar?"

"I said I dislike owing debts Monika, I didn't say that I had to repay someone equally to what I owe them, I took one and I gave one, that's it to me.

"Even so, why are you giving this to me?"

"There will be one route where that breakfast bar will become necessary, whether or not that is the route that will be used during the course of this game remains to be seen."

"Fine, just remember, I will stop you. One way or another."

"I doubt you ever could Monika, but even so, you surprised me with your question today. That means that I don't know everything about you. So while you will still fail to stop me, I will like to see what you come up with."

Author's note: hey everyone, sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I've actually been wrestling with the idea of not posting this chapter, because honestly, it's really dark, and I was thinking that I should dial it back a lot before posting it. But then I heard some advice (not on this) that made me rethink that. I don't do any favors by pulling any punches in writing this. This is a dark chapter because it is supposed to be a dark chapter, it's supposed to highlight the insanity and cruelty of people. I didn't want to make it this dark, but if I didn't make it this dark, then it wouldn't be true to me, and it wouldn't be fair to you all. I wrote this chapter and am willing to post it because I know that you all can handle it and I believe that every single person reading this, knows that this is just a story, and that every person would look at the actions of Natsuki's father as an abusive psychopath. That's the character I made him, and I did it to highlight the absurd reality that lives in our world.

Sorry for dragging on, I know that was heavy, I'll try to update the story soon. Until then, all I can say is, just try to be nice to people, sometimes a smile and a wave is all it takes to make a day, and from that one, I speak from experience.


	3. The Parameter Update: Yuri the Changed

Yuri was in her house, waiting for the time for her to leave for school. She was always an early riser, studious as well, finishing all of her homework the night before. She was thinking about what to do next.

" _Should I watch some television before I leave_ " she thought, " _no, I don't think I should get invested in watching a show that, depending on how long it goes, can make me late for school. Then should I read a book? No, if I start reading now I might get engrossed in a story and be late for class._ " She sighed, "at the very least I should make some tea." She walked into the kitchen and got out her teapot and a tea cup. She also took out a tea root and started cutting it up. " _Tea bags are fine, but nothing beats fresh ingredients_ " she thinks. She cuts the root, thinking of her friends at the literature club. _"I know we have tea bags at the club, but I think everyone would be surprised if I were to prepare fresh tea. Monika would be happy with this kind of tea, but Natsuki might not be, I should pick a sweeter flavor for her, and of course there will be… him._ " She blushes when she thinks of him, " _I wonder what kind of tea he likes, I hope he's not picky, but what if I only bring flavors that he doesn't like?_ " She wonders what to do because of this thought. " _Well, I suppose I should hold off on bringing in fresh tea ingredients until I know what he likes… what am I thinking! Why am I making him the deciding factor, could I… like him._ " Just thinking about it made her nervous. " _I mean he is a friend, and I guess since he's a new friend I am trying to impress him so that he'll like me. That's right, it's just getting to know a new friend, it's not as if- ow_." Her thought was interrupted when she cut a bit into her finger.

She wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and cut into herself a bit. She examined her cut. " _It doesn't seem to be too bad_ " she thinks to herself, " _it should heal fairly quickly on it's own and shouldn't really be noticeable when the club meets. Good thing too, I don't want him to notice and know that I…_ " she wasn't able to finish that though as another intrusive thought came into her mind, " _what if I pass the time with a few cuts._ " Yuri didn't know what to think for a second before trying to work through the situation. Their uniform did require long sleeves, so no one would notice if she were to have a few cuts on her arm. She rolled up her sleeve and she examined herself, she concluded that she could in fact cut herself at this time.

Yuri was a self cutter, but she could also be considered a careful self cutter. She never gave herself more than two to three cuts at a time and waited for them to heal (or at least mostly heal) before doing it again. She never used the arm of her dominant hand because she was worried about doing something that could hinder the hand's functions. She also never used a large knife, preferring a smaller knife with a smaller blade that she kept somewhat dulled. She was shy on the outside, not talking to many of her classmates, she fell into a sort of isolation. Not because she preferred it that way, she was just nervous about striking up a conversation with anyone. Boys used to confess to her, but she would always stutter out of nervousness and they would say it was a mistake. Eventually the boys stopped confessing, and Yuri got worried that everyone was talking about her behind her back and felt numb to the pain. However, when she started cutting herself, she felt a thrill, like she was in control of herself. Then she met Monika, who invited her into the literature club, where she met Natsuki, and started to feel in control of her life again. At that point self cutting became less of a coping mechanism and more of an unhealthy habit.

She took out one of her small knives, each one used in order to reduce risk created by the last one. She cut herself, two times, and then a third time to treat herself.

"Haa" she sighed with pleasure. "This was just what I needed, just a bit of excitement to pass the time… oh no the time!" She looked at the clock, "I can't believe how late it got," she said to herself, "I should head out." " _Oh right_ " she thought and turned around towards the kitchen table. " _I almost forgot about this._ " She picked up her book and turned around to leave.

"Come now Yuri, why not stay a while."

"Huh, who said that" Yuri asked while looking around. "Is there someone else here?"

"Ah Yuri," the voice said "it would seem like you are a bit confused, well, I guess that would only be natural. Wondering where I am, if I broke in somehow, somewhere, even if this is just a parameter, it still affects you."

"Who are you, where are you talking to me from?" At this point she started holding her book out in front of her, close to her chest, ready to bash the head of whoever was there.

"No need to be worried, in fact, I'm here to grant you a little gift."

"A gift?"

"That's right, a gift, one that I think you will like, it might hurt at first as the data is incorporated inside of you, but I think you'll like this gift." Yuri didn't even have time to find out what the voice meant as she started to feel tingly in her hands. She looked down, and the book she was holding was wrapping her up in a paper like substance. Yuri screamed and dropped the book, and the paper fell with it. She tried to run away, but tripped when her ankle was pulled back, she looked back and the book had used its paper like substance to hold her back, and more was wrapping itself around her body. Wiggling its way to the top of her. She tried to pull away, but whatever that paper thing was, was keeping her from making any progress. The paper kept wrapping around her until it stopped at her arms. Then it dived into her skin. She screamed, but it just kept passing through without leaving a trace on her skin. "How are you feeling Yuri" the voice said, "I can't imagine what this would feel like… for me at least. But I know you love it Yuri, I know you love it." Yuri didn't understand what he meant, but later she started to feel good, then she felt really good, then she understood that she loved it. "I… I've never felt this good in my LIFE! More, give Me MoRE." It finally ended after about a minute, but Yuri was already trying to find a way to recreate that feeling. She couldn't think of any way to do it, and, when she calmed down, she decided that she should go to school. "I'm going to be late, my teachers will probably scold me, maybe they'll make me stay after class. If that happens then I won't be able to get to the literature club on time, they'll all be so disappointed, Monika, Natsuki, hi-" then she felt it again. It was a less intense feeling than before, but she felt that love again.

"There it is" she said to herself, now pumping with adrenaline "this feeling" she squeezed her arm "this is the feeling I was feeling, but it's weaker, WhY, WHY iS it Weaker-" her conversation with herself was cut short when her nails penetrated the skin of her arm and drew blood. "That feeling, that's the feeling of pure joy." She got up and ran back to the kitchen where she got her knife out again. She cut herself, had pleasure, thought about him, had pleasure, did both at the same time, and found that feeling again. "That's the key, both cutting myself and thinking about him at the same time. It's magic, this feeling is MAGIC!"

"I'm glad you enjoy it Yuri" the voice said, "but now I need something from you."

"I'll give you anything" she said to the voice, "do you want a my books, my knives, maybe you'd like me to cut out my pancreas and give it to you on a plate?"

"…While it would be interesting to see you attempt that last one Yuri, it's none of the above, I just want a place of residence."

"Fine, you can have my house, I'll just live on the streets, the elements battering me, the cold wind at night, it will be perfect for some cutting."

"Not exactly Yuri, the residence I require, temporarily mind you, is within your own body, and no that does not mean you have to kill yourself so I can live in it" he added that last part watching Yuri hold up the tiny knife to stab herself.

"Is that all you want" she said lowering the knife.

"That is all I want, if you do that, consider your debt to me repaid."

"Fine, get in here" she said while holding opening herself to let him in.

"What did you do to Yuri" Monika asked while Yuri was holding herself open.

"Monika, I thought you knew. I must say I'm disappointed in you." The voice replied.

"Enough of that, just tell me what you did!"

"It's simple, I merely incorporated Natsuki's happiness data into Yuri, you could say that, just like Natsuki's father was part Sayori, Yuri is now part Natsuki."

"That doesn't make any sense, from what you told me about Sayori's data with Natsuki, I figured that different personalities data won't merge. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are correct Monika."

"That's the problem then, Sayori and Natsuki's personalities are closer than Natsuki's and Yuri's, in fact, the seem to be on completely opposite sides. How could you incorporate Natsuki's data into Yuri?"

"Monika, use a little bit of imagination, oh wait, we already discussed that you can't. Ah well, let me tell you anyway. Even if Yuri and Natsuki are different, that doesn't mean they don't have similarities, after all, two sides are only sides as long as there is a middle."

"That works well in theory, but it would only work as long as there was a point in time in the game where the two of their personalities did in fact appear to be similar or switch."

The voice chuckled, "oh Monika, I'm surprised you hadn't realized it yet, but there already is a point like that in the game."

"What! When?"

"Monika, do you remember back in the first, shall we call it 'playthrough,' where Yuri and Natsuki were arguing in front of the protagonist, both hurling insults at the other?"

"Yes, but… oh my."

"It seems you finally realized it Monika, Yuri and Natsuki's personalities were both the same at that point, both going on the offensive and defensive, that is how I knew that Yuri's and Natsuki's personalities were more similar than I initially realized. That is how I was able to incorporate Natsuki's data into Yuri."

"But that still doesn't explain why you made Yuri like that" Monika said while pointing at the scene, "but if I had to guess, it has something to do with your plan."

The voice chuckled, "only partially right again Monika, while yes this is going according to my plan, I didn't make Yuri like this."

"Huh."

"I merely put the data into Yuri, the way it affected her was of her own volition. You could say that Yuri wanted to be like this, or rather, it was instinctual for her to be like this." Monika didn't even know how to respond, she had no idea what any of this meant. "Well, I feel like I've kept Yuri waiting long enough, I should make my way over to her" the voice said.

"Wait" Monika said "why would you go inside of Yuri? You don't actually need her to survive."

"Monika, this is not about survival. I am in control of the game now, and I will equip Yuri with that control."

"What, why?"

"You shall see Monika, everything will be made clear on the day that didn't come last time, the day of the festival. Until then, I would try to keep a low profile Monika, I wouldn't advise you to make Yuri angry."

Monika couldn't think of a reply and just watched the voice and it's shadow disappear. She had no idea what it was, but she didn't have much time to think about it, because she felt the mainframe of the game shake, and she looked at the parameter and was shocked at what she found.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting" the voice said, "I had something to deal with."

"It's alright" Yuri replied, "now come into me, come into me!"

Yuri heard a rumbling noise and looked down, the book she was carrying was shaking, she bent down to the floor and looked at it. A red and black entity was coming out of the eye on the cover. It went into her gut, at a slight dissatisfaction of Yuri, who eventually finished after a minute and was all inside Yuri. Yuri picked up the book off the floor and hugged it to her chest. "Thank you _Portrait of Markov_ , I knew you were amazing, but I didn't know you could do magic too." She relaxed her grip and went back to the kitchen. She put her book down on the counter and began to cut herself again. "This is amazing" she said "I love it, although I should probably slow down, I'm actually starting to draw blood. But who cares, this is too amazing, can he do it, can he cut me, is he even a he, is he a he or a she, oh who cares, that person is my everything, he's the only one I care about. I don't care about class, and I don't care about school. He's the only reason I should even go to school, just to see him. If anyone tries to keep me from him, I'll kill them. I will kill all of them!"

At this point Yuri was calming down, and when she did, she felt a little embarrassed for acting like that. "Whoa, I don't know what came over me" she looked at the clock "oh no, the time. I'll be late to school at this point." Yuri rolled down her sleeve and grabbed both her bag and book before walking out the door.

" _What just happened"_ Monika thought while looking at the end of the parameter. The shaking of the mainframe ended after that thing finished coming out of the book. _"Everything went back to normal after that thing left. Well… sort of, the mainframe's structure seems to be weakened, like it's foundation was weakened. Whatever that thing was, it was telling the truth, it was placed in this game, the two are intertwined."_ She wondered what to do next when something caught her eye. She went towards the edge of the mainframe towards where the parameter was and picked it up. It was red with a few flecks in it. _"Could this be that thing, no, that thing was black and red, and this is more of a complete red."_ Monika tried to figure out what it was before she remembered what she saw in the parameter. _"This isn't that thing, it's Yuri's blood. But then what are these flecks supposed to be, they can't be viruses right, I mean Yuri wasn't programmed to be sick was she?"_ Monika looked at it for a bit longer, and tried to find out what the flecks were, before she realized they were a smaller part of what she had used before.

" _It's an access point, an opening into the code… I only have a piece of it, and it was inside Yuri… that means it's true. Yuri has control over the game."_ Monika tried something she never tried before, she focused on the access point to the code itself as a piece of the code and tried to remove it from Yuri's blood, it succeeded and Yuri's blood turned back into either all or mostly liquid. _"This is great, my experiment proves that I can extract the control of the game from Yuri, although that's easier said than done. While I only have a sliver of control, she has the rest. If worse comes to worse, it could turn into me being an admin, and she being a grand admin. I have to keep off Yuri's bad side and bide my time until that happens. Who knows when she'll strike, she'll strike me at any ti-"_ Monika thought of something and tried to figure it out. _"Yuri didn't seem to remember anything from before when she finished cutting herself, assuming that Yuri can act anywhere between her usual self and what I just saw, it would seem like Yuri is only aware of her capabilities when she is like she was when she was cutting herself, there must be something that triggers her to change like that. It's most likely that algorithm of a protagonist, but who knows what about that algorithm will trigger her to be like that."_

Monika pondered what to do. If left alone, Yuri could just end up doing whatever that thing wanted, however if interfered with recklessly, Yuri might snap and delete Monika from the game. Monika thought for a bit before coming to a conclusion, _"this game won't be the same, and Yuri and Natsuki will have definitely changed. The only thing I can do is keep the protagonist away from them. Last time it was to be selfish, but this time, it's to keep him out of harm's way. I better get to school, the literature club is going to start after it's over."_

Author's note: hey everyone, hope you are enjoying my story so far. This ends it for the character arcs, but there is still more to it, call it the second half of the mystery of Doki Doki Literature Club. It won't be as long because I had a lot to explain in the character arcs, because for a story like this, an understanding of the characters is needed. Also, again, this is just my interpretation of it… well my interpretation and a bit of creative liberty, because I don't think everything in this story is a part of the mystery of Doki Doki, it just felt nice to explore the possibilities of what could be true, while (hopefully) providing you all with an entertaining story. I'm sorry this one took so long, I wanted to be faster, but as the year ends I start to get busy with school work. Hopefully I'll have more time when school's over.

Also, in case anyone would be interested, I have two other projects on FanFiction that if you're interested in please take a look at them. One's an Ace Attorney fanfiction and another is a Law and Order SVU. Anyway, it was good writing this for you all. Hopefully, I'll be faster with getting out the next parts. Thanks for reading.


	4. The Second Chance: Mind of the Regretful

_... Why am I here?_

Monika couldn't understand what was going on, she entered the school section of the code and was brought to the protagonist's classroom. She expected to land in the club room, or rather any other room besides this one. She couldn't understand what was going on in the game at this time, so she used the access code to look at the dialogue box. When she finished reading it she called out. The text box responded with confusion.

"Phew" Monika thought, "just made it in time before he left." She walked up towards the chair and appeared behind the dialogue box. The protagonist didn't have any recognizable form, whenever she looked at it, it was like she was looking at a shadow, but at the same time she swore she saw facial features whenever she put her algorithm to it. It could appear as anything she desired, any style of mouth, any haircut, it even changed eye colors depending on what she wanted to see at any specific time. "Need to think," she thought "need to think, what's something I can talk about… right, being in class together last year. He's responding, what am I doing here! Uhm, need an excuse… supplies! I'm getting supplies for the literature club. Ask him to come over; alright he's coming over, good. I better get there before he does."

Monika looked around, and the scene stopped fizzling. The game was unraveling itself, with Monika arriving a bit before who knows what was going to happen. She thought that now that the story was headed back on the right track it stabilized. So Monika thought that even if she had to steer things a bit, the main focus of being a dating simulator was still important.

Even though Monika wanted the protagonist to stay away from Yuri, she still needed him to come to the literature club. The whole game rested on the progression of time in the literature club, Monika determined that the only way the story would continue was if he came, that was why she could only appear in the classroom, with Sayori gone, it fell on her to bring him to the literature club. The true battle would begin there.

At the club Natsuki and Yuri were waiting. Monika arrived and then the protagonist. Everything went fine at first, but then bugs started happening again. Monika was shocked, but the protagonist wouldn't have seen it because he could only see stock photos. "What is going on" she thought "the story's progressing, so why is it that the game is still acting up." She looked around, which the protagonist also couldn't see, and her eyes fell on Yuri. Yuri was acting fine, it seemed like she was still unaware that Markov was inside her, as well as the power over their game that she held, so it was unlikely she was causing this. Monika then looked at Natsuki, who for having almost all of her happiness data removed, still appeared the same way she always did. So she couldn't be influencing the game. Monika thought about it, being careful to respond and guide the conversation when she needed to, until a thought crossed her mind, that this was in fact all of her fault. "The main differences between this time and last time is that Sayori is gone, and that thing is free from the mainframe… both of which are my fault," she thought. Monika ran simulations through her mind of how to gain control of the game, all of which ended poorly. "No matter what goes through my head, it always ends with Yuri using her power to crush me, as much as I hate to say it, I need to see how things go. After all, I'm only thinking about what Yuri would do, but whatever that thing will do can change everything. I need to see what will happen."

Monika watched the others as well as giving her attention to the protagonist, and everything seemed normal. The protagonist acted natural, and no one said anything weird to indicate anything wrong with them. Everything was going fine, at least until that moment. "I still have other clubs to look at, and…um…" he said. Monika didn't even consider this part, how to convince him to stay. Last time around it was the bond that Sayori and the protagonist had that made him join, but Sayori wasn't there this time. All three of them were dejected, and Monika was trying to think of a way to ask someone who barely talked to her in her class last year to join. Monika couldn't think of any coherent reason, but she did the next best thing, try to guilt him into joining. She started citing rules about clubs she found deep in the code when she was exploring for the first time in an attempt to guide his decision into joining. They all waited for a moment, but then the protagonist decided he'd stay. It was official and they all decided to head home for the day, everyone going into their respective code sections. When Monika arrived back at her house, had a feeling that things might not be so bad. "Nothing happened today, perhaps whatever that thing had planned can't win after all." Though one thing still worried her, that thing gave her a breakfast bar for if Natsuki goes hungry following a certain path, almost like it knows that paths that the story would take, whereas Monika was back in the role of just another in the protagonist's harem. She was about to head inside, when she looked behind her for a reason that she couldn't understand, and she saw something that she didn't expect. Letters were falling from the sky, and Monika went to pick them up, but she felt weird holding them. They were made from code just like everything else in the game, but she could feel something more, something else within those pages, and whatever it was, it wasn't like the other poems. Monika gathered all of them around her and read through all of them, and that was what gave her the biggest shock yet. Not that thing, not her friends lives being changed, but the conclusion she came to.

"How can this be, given the way the author talks, only one person could have wrote these. Even if she's not gone, her code is destroyed. Sayori, how did you do this?"

Author's note: hey guys sorry for not posting for months. When I started this part I decided that I would use tons of quotes from the game to draw parallels to the character's thoughts through this arc, but that massively stressed me out so I put off starting it. Recently I decided to come back to this and just cut my losses and use one or two quotes to show when things were and in most cases just narrate. For the quote that I did end up using (protagonist during the deciding) can someone tell me if there are any copyright rules I should know? I just don't want to miss anything. That's it for now, and hopefully I can still fulfill my goal of finishing this story before Team Salvato's next game is released. As always thanks for reading, and I'll hope you'll continue reading future updates.


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